EOS 1D Mark 2 Short user revue.

[labrador]

Well folks,

I finally got to use the EOS 1dMark two and so far i am blown away.
Shot some annual report portraits day before yesterday and a wedding tonight and these are my findings.

First of all, the flash performance is spot on. E-TTL2 delivers 90-95% correct exposure compared to 50-65% with the previous E-TTL system. Flash exposure is very balanced and ambient light is hardly ever overwhelmed by the flash. No more fiddling with the exposure compensation button with this one. I basically just shot away and for the most part got very good results. When it does get the exposure wrong, the error is in the area of about 1/2 stop or less. very easy to correct.

Battery life is much improved. I shot about 1200 exposures tonight on....ONE BATTERY! this is far better than i ever imagined it would be. I knew power consumption improved but this was way beyind all expectation. I started shooting at around 2 pm and finished at 12am and the battery still is at full! This is more on the order of the 300D or 10D.

This Camera eats memory. I still have to figure out the proper combination of file size and compression to suit my jobs. I started out with M1 ( six MP with slight compression ) and ended the night at M2 ( 4.3 MP with higher compression)

As far as feel is concerned there are absolutely no changes. It feels like I am carrying my old solid as a brick 1D. I found the pics a bit saturated for my taste, but coming from the 1D with it's conservative color quality that's to be expected. I used to use the shade setting at matrix 3 saturated to add pizzaz to my coverage pictures but tonight i found myself using AWB at matrix 1 or 4 ( adobe RGB ) a lot more than i expected. this produced excellent skin tone and background ambient glow.

I prefer the old remote capture software to the new one but i understand the software is still under development. Perhaps it's just me getting used to a new thing.

Tried Adobe RAW 2.2 for CS this morning and the max. enlarged size for 8 bit TIFFS from raw files is a wopping 16-24! This means the camera will handle large posters without too much detail loss.

All in all i give this one a 9.5 out of 10. Now, if someone would just decide to buy my old 1D....

Albert L.

[Myles]

If you don't mind sir, can we see a sample pic? (preferably one where you used flash). Thanks for the review.

[labrador]

Sure myles,

I'm a bit computer illiterate, are there instructions on this site on how to post?

[manilaman2001]

Albert,

Thanks for your initial posting. I picked up my new toy last Thursday as well, and I have not given it any work-out yet. We're still in the getting to know you, let me compare you to the 1d mode.

Funny, no hand strap included. While this was already known earlier, i was hoping one would end up inside by mistake. I'm just picking up one next week. In fact, its just the camera & manuals thats out of the box, everything else is still packed, as i'm just using the 1d accessories for the meantime.

The family's scheduled for an out of town next week, that's where i'd get to use this more. Since i got it, its been the kids, macro stuff around the house.

If you discover more, keep posting here.

//Derick

[Myles]

Thanks Albert. To post a photo, do not use the fast reply. Click on post reply instead. Then choose file to be attached (jpeg, 800x600 72dpi). Oh.. and congrats!!!

[manilaman2001]

Here's my 30 minute session last night......

http://www.pbase.com/manilaman04/mark

[vicicasas]

I agree with most everything Albert said, and intend to post more detailed comments after spending more time with the demo unit I've got in my possession.

Personally, I've always been a bit of a saturation junkie, so the increased saturation compared to the 1D's flatter colors doesn't bother me so much; in fact it gave me pleasant flashbacks to my D30 days. And now that we're back in CMOS territory, long exposures are nice and buttery again, unlike the video noise-ish long exposures on the original 1D.

Here's a pic from last night, taken on my street at sunset:

[manilaman2001]

Vic,

When can i, tito emy wreak havoc on your new home? Sort of welcome to the south; kinda house warming thingy???

I have a friend who also stays there, Ton Dy. Guys we play with badminton at the club.

WELCOME TO THE SOUTH boy!

Derick

ps. as usual, we're looking forward to your detailed review of this new baby.

[labrador]

Here's a sample,

Not a great photo ( picked at random ) but one that would've presented difficulties for the old 1D...Moving subject, center focusing point, flash on normal exposure mode. ASA 800. Normally would've been quite a bit underexposed due to the white dress.

albert

[dwin888]

nice haus!! nice car!! hahahaha where do u live ba? :evil: